The present invention relates generally to reusable training or practice rounds of ammunition. The invention relates in particular to so-called "dummy" rounds of ammunition which contain no explosive.
In many practice or training applications of firearms, such as practice in use of the loading and ejection mechanisms, the use of live ammunition is not necessary. In such applications, the use of live ammunition is undesirable, because it is dangerous and expensive. It is dangerous because of the obvious risk of accidental discharge, which may create a life-threatening situation for the operator and endanger surrounding animate and inanimate objects. It is expensive because live ammunition is "consumed", even though not discharged or fired since, in undergoing contact with the loading and ejection mechanisms of firearms, live ammunition is generally damaged to the extent that it should not be relied on to fire properly. Thus, it is common to discard live ammunition after it has been used in testing or training in the loading and ejection mechanisms of firearms.
It is possible to use blank ammunition for testing, training or practice purposes, but this has most of the disadvantages of live ammunition, discussed above, although it is less dangerous because it does not have a projectile.
Accordingly, there have heretofore been provided inert or "dummy" practice rounds which do not contain explosives. However, some such prior inert practice rounds have been of relatively complex and expensive multi-part construction. Others, made for small caliber guns, have been made of plastic and can serve only as a dry fire round for a short period of time. Such practice rounds do not resemble live ammunition sufficiently for actual practice of loading and unloading of a firearm and will not cycle without breaking. Other types of practice rounds are simply made from real ammunition, assembled without primer or gun powder. These latter types cannot be dry fired and are also short-lived in cycling service due to being made of generally soft brass. Furthermore, prior inert practice rounds designed for larger caliber guns have typically been designed to closely simulate live ammunition of comparable caliber in appearance, weight and balance. Thus, such practice rounds could easily be mistaken for actual live ammunition.